HUGE DEMANTOID. 27CT. DEEP GREEN. RUSSIAN

[Oleg]

What do you guys think of this? I already asked about half a year ago, but now I have a little better pics. How much is it worth?

 

[Oleg]

on the pictures you can see horsetail inclusions and some gas bubbles. what appears to be a deep crack is actually only on the surface. inside it's pretty clean and all solid.

 

[RockHugger]

Have you sent it to a lab? I'm not convinced it's a demantoid. The large gas bubbles make me a little suspicious, as I have never seen such large ones in demantoid. ALSo, those don't look like horse tails.

If you have some baby oil, put it in a short glass or shot glass and pop the demantoid in it. You can see inclusions much better that way.


IF it's demantoid, it could be worth some bucks.

 

[Pandora II]

You need to send this to a lab,

I would doubt that it is demantoid as it shows no features of cubic crystal habit, instead it looks like a Verneuil process synthetic boule.

This is what rough andradite should look like:

 

[Largosmom]

Although I have only seen synthetic boule once, it surely looks like that. So sorry, but you won't know for certain unless you have it tested by someone knowledgeable...a lab or an experienced gemologist.

Laura

 

[Michael_E]

What do you guys think of this? I already asked about half a year ago, but now I have a little better pics. How much is it worth?

Round "bubbles" are an automatic red flag, (because round bubbles are common in glass and not common in much else), and all the pictures in the world won't tell you what you have. If I had to guess though, I'd say,


"It's worth One Million Dollars"

 

[RockHugger]

Oh, that's a good idea and deal!

 

[Sniven]

This is the last post from your other thread about this same "stone".

Everyone is so helpful and enthusiastic about this issue! I am very surprised, thank you. I have to get it to GIA somehow to know anything for sure... I will definitely let you know how everything turns out.

I think you know the answer and I really wonder why you keep posting the same question?! You could provide a thousand pics and it won't really matter. You need to get this into the hands of a reputable lab for proper examination, but I know you already know this from your previous comment so I guess we are just wasting bandwidth...

 

[chrono]

I still stand by my original opinion that it is a synthetic piece of rough. The shape is incorrect for a demantoid and even the internal structure looks wrong. Please send it to a lab to get a definitive answer.

 

[Oleg]

its not so easy...it i had the stone on hand it would be in GIA first thing. i wouldn't bother any of you. it's overseas which complicates everything, and i need to know what i am looking at here before i make any moves. i have a small worthless specimen from the same source. GIA tested it. its demantoid. so what would a large one like that cost assuming it is a genuine demantoid? just in general how much do they go for of that quality and size, does anyone know?

 

[Rae~]

I can't answer as to value, but just remember that a small stone received from the same "source" and tested as demantoid really doesn't have any relevance in regards to THIS "stone's" ID.

Many knowledgeable people here are telling you they see nothing to indicate it is a demantoid. I think independant verification by a legitimate organisation (eg GIA) is your only option. If the "source" is asking you to pay for this before it is verified, then..... run! Really!!!

 

[iota15]

I agree with Rae. It sounds like you're considering purchasing or bringing this piece in. Given what you've heard here so far, and the source's apparent disinclination to send it to a real or any grading facility since your first post nine months ago.... RUN! Run as fast as you can from this stone.

From the little I know about Demantoid's, they are worth some money.... and at that size? What reputable dealer wouldn't get it graded/verified for authenticity, etc? (In case it's not rhetorical enough - a real shaddy, scammy one, that's who!)

For something that size, I'm sure even a poor farmer in Russia could forgo a few meals and collect enough money through loans or whatnot to pay the grading fee. For crying out loud, if you were that interested, why don't you pay for it to be graded?

No one here has given you any indication that it's likely to be the real deal. Also, from what I've read here - gemstone scams happen more often and for larger figures the closer you get to it's mine/source. It's easy to give you a dematoid chip and convince you this (?) glass boule (?) is real. I've read other posters/cutters meeting sob-story farmers or local people or whatnot close to Mine X, trying to pass off a beautiful rough piece of glass as X.


Personally, due to spotty info from you, I thought you were trying to sell this piece and wanted to know how much you could pass off this piece of glass or whatever it is for. If you are considering buying it still, consider paying for the grading.... or rather, and perhaps wiser, forget it ever existed, block the source from your facebook, and RUN!!! If it were a "true deal", why is it still available nine months later? Surely, some tourist, "local investor" or local jewelry store owner would have snapped up this piece by now, right?

 

[Largosmom]

Oleg, anyone can buy a small worthless demantoid off ebay for a few tens to hundreds of dollars and tell you it's from the same source. I have a pair of small demantoids in my earrings that I purchased off ebay that are not worth certifying. A demantoid the size of the rough *stone* you have shown would be worth many thousands of dollars...perhaps tens of them, so the investment by someone wishing to scam you would be worth it. The only way the so-called stone is worth that however is if a reputable lab tests it and names it demantoid. (not the seller or the seller's "in house" expert either by the way). It shows no visible indications that it is demantoid other than it's color. The color is also common in glass and synthetic gemstones. It most closely resembles synthetic gemstone, but no one can really tell from a photo what it is. I'm with the others RUN FAST from this so-called deal.

Edited to add: google yourself: search terms--synthetic green gemstone or synthetic green spinel or synthetic green garnet or "green YAG" and you will find photos of man-made gemstone rough that looks a lot like that rough.

 

[chrono]

I have to agree with the 3 posters above. Now knowing that you are interested in purchasing this piece of “something” changes the importance of understanding what you will be receiving. If it is truly a demantoid of that size and colour, this news would have made the front pages of every gem related publishing and online pages. I also agree that it is very inexpensive and easy to send you a small real demantoid in an attempt to convince you that they are from the same source. If you are in Europe, there are other labs that are reputable such as Gubelin, SSEF (Swiss Gemological Institute) and CISGEM (Centre for Information and Services in Gemology).

 

[Oleg]

Guys, thank you very much for taking your time to aswer. I really appreciate all of your help. It is very dissapointing to hear that you all agree on one thing - its probably a scam. I hoped for this to turn out another way...

 

[Lovinggems]

Oleg sorry you don't have the real deal, hope you didn't pay too much for it.

 

[LD]

Oleg - look at it this way. If this were a real Demantoid, the asking price would be huge AND there would be stiff competition to buy it AND the seller would most definitely have sent it to a lab to obtain a report in order to drive up the selling price AND it would most probably be snapped up by a collector long before it ever was put on the market. Unfortunately rare finds at good prices are very very very very very hard to find. If this is a real Demantoid, the seller would agree to sending to a lab with the sale dependent on it.

 

[Arkteia]

I suspect the situation is not understood too well. The problem is not finding $$ to send the stone to the GIA, the problem is sending it to the GIA. Mailing. At least this is my guess. There are reputable labs in Russia, but I would beware leaving a potentially expensive stone there. Luckily, it is probably not a demantoid. No gain, but no pain...

Many, many years ago my mother had the same situation with an emerald, from the same area. She just got afraid of buying it, and I am glad that she did not.